Special to the NEWS
Cameron County Sheriff’s Office Investigators have arrested the father of a four-year-old victim in a shooting death that occurred outside a convenience store in the San Benito area earlier this month.
The incident occurred on October 1 outside the Tecosville Grocery, located in the 21000 Block of FM 800, just outside San Benito.
At the time, the sheriff’s office described the situation as “very sensitive” due to the circumstances.
Officials eventually said the victim was a four-year-old male who apparently suffered a gunshot wound to the face when he allegedly discovered his father’s firearm while unattended in a family vehicle as his parents were in the store.
According to the sheriff’s office, on October 1, the child was brought to the Harlingen Medical Center by his parents after suffering the gunshot wound.
A press release reports that Cameron County Sheriff’s Investigators found security footage, statements, and additional evidence leading them to their conclusions.
The sheriff’s office says the child’s father left a handgun in the vehicle’s center console. The boy grabbed the handgun and accidentally discharged it, shooting himself in the face.
Sheriff’s Office investigators eventually arrested the child’s father on an arrest warrant for criminally negligent homicide, a state jail felony. Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino did not release the father’s name, citing the family’s privacy.
As previously reported, so far in 2026, the U.S. has recorded at least 191 unintentional shootings involving children, resulting in 68 deaths and 128 injuries, according to tracking data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In recent years, tracking groups have documented hundreds of unintentional shootings by minors under 18, including more than 400 incidents in 2023.
These groups have identified 1,262 deaths from unintentional firearm injuries among children and adolescents ages 0–17 between 2003 and 2021.
According to the CDC, Ohio (19), Texas (16), Georgia (15), and Alabama (14) have recorded the most incidents this year, making them the top states in 2026.
The vast majority of these incidents occur in a home where a firearm, often belonging to a parent or relative, is left unlocked and loaded.
Health researchers, public health agencies, and organizations often classify shootings that kill children as a public health epidemic in the US. According to the CDC, firearms are the leading cause of death among children ages 1-19 in the US, surpassing motor vehicle deaths.